Ascending
by wge3
Summary: "In the end, you choose your own form of self-destruction. Such is life. In the end, whatever choice you make, you would have to give the world and more take it back."
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1 -

Malu was an angry person, by definition. There were a lot of things he simply found himself pissed off about. Too much sugar in his coffee ("That wouldn't be a problem, dear, if you didn't use sugar." "Yes, thank you, wife. Not all of us Professors are fond of black bitterness."), bus rides that take too long ("Walk, dear. It's good for you." "I am perfectly healthy."), students turning in late assignments expecting him to grade them ("They don't learn the material better when you are punishing them." "Discipline, darling, is key."), and the general nonsense of having to deal with people.

But now, he actually had something to be thoroughly enraged by and there was nothing his wife could say about it.

"No."

The doctor shifted uncomfortably, obviously not fully prepared for this sort of conversation. Good. No one is.

"You are aware Kunyo died earlier this week – "

"What a tragedy."

Soo-min coughed awkwardly at Malu's callousness. He glanced down at her stern gaze and rolled his eyes.

The doctor watched the exchange, obviously starting to lose his patience.

"Look, I understand how scar – "

"I doubt that."

"Your son will be taken care of – "

"You've already called the sages, haven't you?"

"You will still be able to see – "

"He is _our_ son. That is a guarantee you shouldn't have to be making."

"He is not_ just_ your son. He is the – "

"I KNOW WHAT HE IS!"

Malu's ourburst quieted the mumbling nurses in the corner and the doctor sighed and ran a hand through his hair.

Soo-min coughed again and said, "Well, the first step is acceptance, dear."

Malu looked down at her again, taking in her broken smile and resigned shoulders and her tired, _tired_ eyes. He felt his eyes burn.

"We haven't even _named_ him yet…" He said, his voice gruff and bordering on desperate.

She reached her free hand up to his cheek and said softly, "Then let's name him."

* * *

"Well, this could be worse." Soo-min said, turning around the room, Sam gurgling happily as she whirled.

Malu grunted at the view of the mountains and the field of fire-lilies just outside the temple window.

"Could it?" He asked sarcastically, raising his eyebrows at Sam who was blowing dust bunnies in the air with weak little bursts of wind. He giggled as one landed on his nose.

Soo-min looked carefully at him then said, "You _know_ it could've."

"Maybe being a soldier would be better than being trapped here his whole life."

"Yeah, being trained to kill people in pointless fights is what real freedom means."

Malu knew she was right (like always) though he was still ready to punch the next Avatar Sage who tried to tell him about his son's universal importance and how honored he should be to be the father.

But he knows as his wife knows; if their son _had_ to be a Bender, he was at least partly grateful he was The Avatar.

Only partly. The rest of him couldn't forget how useless a figurehead Kunyo had been. The world is nearing the brink of war, the environment is about to collapse on itself, less and less Benders are being born every year and those that are born are being forced to oil the war machine of their society and The Avatar, the one people have called The Bridge for centuries, the all-powerful four-element bending wise old man whose existence was a job description in providing balance amongst all the forces of the world, _The Avatar_ had simply sat on his fat-ass, eating custard pies and telling everyone things like "poverty" were a myth.

And apparently he didn't even Bend very well.

Both Malu and Soo-min were Professors at Western City University and coincidentally the most well-educated people with regard to The Ancient Ways. They knew more about the Avatar than most of these kiss-up Sages, walking around in garish robes and prattling on about the wisdom of the Sky Bison.

The only thing these people knew about Sky Bison was that they could fly.

Honestly.

It was almost appropriate, Sam being born with the parents he was. As if destiny had reached down and decided to give the world a fighting chance against Time.

Either way, Malu agreed whole-heartedly with what Soo-min had said as they approached Avatar Island:

"No matter what, we aren't going to let Sam be a sissy. The era of Kunyo is over."

Malu had laughed and replied, "The era of Sam has begun."

Sam responded to this drama by pooping.

* * *

"And then he said, 'You can Bend all the elements.' And then I said, 'What does Bend mean.' And then he said, 'Control.' And then I said I didn't want to and then he said I had to learn and then I ran away."

Soo-min closed her eyes and leaned her forehead against the boulder, the lichen soft against her skin, an ache throbbing at the base of her neck. The sages had been bothering her all day with pleas to control her child, to make _the avatar_ do his duty, and every time she looked at her playful Sam, making friends with even the pebbles beneath his feet, she just couldn't bring herself to change him.

Seems to her that her son has a better understanding of 'Avatar duties' than any of these pompous erudite fun-suckers, anyway.

"Momma?"

She opened her eyes to Sam's curious gaze. His small head was tilted to one side as he looked up at her, his tear streaked cheeks exposing just how much dirt he had managed to collect since his last bath.

The wind blew, shaking loose the last of the autumn leaves in a swirling bluster. Soo-min watched as Sam blew into the swirl around them, making the leaves dance a little longer in the air, intricate patterns forming gracefully. As the leaves settled down once again, Soo-min crouched in front of Sam and said, "If you don't want to learn how to control the elements, then that's okay. But what you _can_ do is learn how to ask."

Sam frowned in confusion.

"Ask them what?"

"Why to dance of course. To dance."

* * *

"Sam! Get your scrawny but down here!"

"But look at the clouds, Dad! They're as fluffy as ice cream!"

"SAM!"

Sam rolled his brown eyes and lightly jumped off the roof. Malu felt his heart jump up his throat as his son flew through the air before landing gently in the courtyard, an impish grin on his face.

Malu was not happy.

"What did I tell you about climbing on top of the Temple?"

"Not to."

"Then why did you do it?"

"Because you _also_ said, 'Son,'" Sam put one hand on his hip and pointed one finger up at his father's face, adopting a deeper and sterner voice, "'always remember, no matter what, you are your own man.'"

He grinned, clearly pleased with his own cleverness.

"You are an insolent child."

"Mom says I'm 'ntelligent."

"I don't care what your mother says."

"I'm gonna tell her you said that."

"You do and your dessert privileges will be revoked."

Sam frowned.

Point: Malu.

"Kiki will just give me ice-cream anyway. _She _think I'm _cute_."

Point: Sam.

Malu found himself wondering how he can never win an argument against his own son.

Sam then jumped up, with a small burst of air, wrapped his arms around Malu's neck and pressed a kiss to his grumpy cheek.

_Oh, yeah_, Malu thought, _That's why._

* * *

"Where are you getting that information? What evidence do you have that backs this up?"

Soo-min was, for once, taking up the argument, for they were desperate enough to use every weapon in their arsenal.

"You have long been aware of the conditions. Until he ten years old. Then he must start traveling on his own."

"We have also long been aware of how little you people truly know about The Avatar."

"He belongs to the world therefore he must break all worldly ties."

"He belongs to no one."

"He is the Avatar."

"Avatar's of the past had wives and husbands, friends and family. Why are we denying the Avatar's humanity, now, of all times, when we need his humanity more than any time before?!"

The Head Sage pinched his eyebrows and walked around his desk to lean up against the front. Soo-min took a step back and Malu put a hand on her shoulder to keep himself from surging forward.

The Sage looked tired and annoyed, running a hand over his wrinkled face and looking up at their growling ones.

Soo-min's eyes widened.

"This is about something else, isn't it?"

The Sage nodded.

"What is it? What did we do? What's wrong?"

Malu watched as the Sage's shoulders slumped forwards and waited for the story to come out.

"You are aware that he sat in a Four Nations Meeting two weeks ago, are you not?"

Malu and Soo-min nodded, wary.

"Well, let's just say...he gave those old crones something to think about."

Malu growled, "What. Happened?"

_"And now onto the business of the sea-lion trade. We will need an extra shipment of meat this coming spring. The demand for them is growing in our cities. It's a very popular delicacy. In exchange we are willing to offer _two_ extra shipments of green-wood lumber, our highest quality lum-"_

_"Why do you need sea-lion meat?"_

_All conversation stopped as the small voice cut off Councilor Sato, of the West. The table of tradesmen twisted in their seat to see Sam standing up in his corner, shrugging off a sage, his face pinched in horror._

_"Well," Sato began, impatient with the interruption, but willing to participate in the Avatar's education. "We don't technically _need_ the meat of the sea - "_

_"Then why are you asking for it?" Sam demanded, crossing his arms._

_"Look, young Avatar, you don't understand - "_

_"Can't you just trade the lumber for something else? Why does South need more than one shipment of lumber? Aren't the green-wood trees s'posed to be sacred, or something? I read that they are the tallest trees on earth and can have hundreds of d'frent species living in them. I read that there is a type of beetle that can sing. I tried to find it once, but it wouldn't harmonize with me. Maybe I'm not that good a singer - "_

_"Avatar! The Trade isn't a game. It is a way of life - "_

_"Well maybe the tree wants a 'way of life' too, you meanie!"_

_"How dare you insult an honored Councilor!" Sato spit, rising to his feet. "You do not understand the careful balance Trade brings our world. The lives of a few sea lions or beetles or trees are not important enough to throw this balance off center. If not for Trade, there would be war. If not for Trade, there would be debt and fear and destruction. Now be silent, you foolish boy, and leave your silly and childish care for beetles out of this room!"_

_Sam, not intent on being cowed, jumped onto the table, scattering documents and pens in a burst of wind. _

_"You haven't even met a sea lion, have you? I bet you don't know anything about them!"_

_"The only thing I need to know is how high in demand they are."_

_"I hate you! I hate your trade! Everyone says trade stops war but we wouldn't have either if we didn't have people like you! If we just fired you and combined all of our countries than we wouldn't have to kill the sea lions. And then you wouldn't have to cut down trees and then I would be able to find a beetle and then - "_

_"Be SILENT! Sage, take him out of here, now!"_

_"You're dumb. And mean. And - "_

_"Come, young Avatar. We are no longer welcome."_

Malu and Soo-min blinked in confusion and glanced at each other when the Head Sage stopped speaking.

Malu stepped forward first, "I don't understand the problem, sir..."

"Yes," Soo-min added, "He made some intelligent points. And you can hardly expect any other sort of opinions from the Avatar, can you?"

The Head Sage shook his head.

"No one expects _any_ sort of opinion from The Avatar. It would be 'un-democratic' in the eyes of the people and most definitely in the eyes of the Trade Councilors."

"What do his scary ten-year-old thoughts have to do with us, though?" Malu asked.

"The Councilors believe it is _your_ parenting that is at fault. They believe you are training him to be like the Avatars of the past."

"What's wrong with that?"

"The Avatar's of the past were very powerful."

"They promoted balance in the world, they didn't rule it."

"Trade promotes balance. It is the democratic way."

"That's bull-shit and you know it. The Four Empires are run solely by people with heavy investments in the market and a plethora of corporate sponsors. That is hardly 'democratic,'" Soo-min bit out scathingly.

"They requested you leave the island and not contact The Avatar again without the express permission of a majority vote in the Four Nations council. If you do not leave of your own free will, you will be forcibly removed. You have three days."

"They want us to leave so they can brainwash him like Kunyo?" Malu growled, clenching his fists and repressing an urge to vomit.

The Head Sage, looked up at the two them boiling in their rage, and said, exhausted, "Essentially…yes."

* * *

Sam watched them pack silently. His complaints and arguments and sobs and violent acts of passion had all died out. Now he sat cross-legged on their bed staring at their slowly filling suitcases, a tiny orange flame beating warmly against his palm.

When they finished they called a Sage to come and collect their luggage.

Sam watched the luggage leave the room and then turned his gaze to his flame. He had just discovered how to create his own flame, something everyone looked disapproving of, another way the world sought to control him.

Soo-min walked forward and ran her finger quickly through the tip of the small fire. He looked up into her eyes, tears running down his round face.

She choked on a sob and then placed her hand on his wet cheek.

"Will you walk us out, dear?" She asked quietly.

Sam nodded and closed his fist on the fire.

They walked silently out of the Temple and down to the helicopter pad, where a farewell party was waiting.

Malu scooped Sam up, not caring if it embarrassed him or not, and squeezed.

"I love you, son." He whispered roughly. "I love you so much. Never forget that."

He pulled back so he could look Sam in the face. He cupped the back of his golden head and said, "Always remember we are out there. Always. We will be looking out for you even if we can't be here. Cheering you on even if we can't be by your side. You will always be my son."

Malu was impressed he was able to get so many words out without spontaneously combusting. Normally talking about his feelings was as hard as eating his own fingers.

This goodbye was probably more important than his pride.

Sam nodded and leaned forward to kiss Malu's forehead. Then he reached for Soo-min to plant a kiss on her forehead, too.

She swallowed loudly and then said sternly, "Don't let them control you, love. You are Sam _first_, before _anything_ else. You are Sam."

Malu held Sam's gaze as the helicopter lifted into the air, his son's brown eyes wide and serious, and found himself wondering about sea lions.


	2. Chapter 2

p class="MsoNormal"Chapter 2/p 


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